Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Hobbit's Luke Evans talks Bard the Bowman heroics and pointy hats

Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The role of Bard the Bowman was a career changing performance for Aberbargoed actor Luke Evans, who hasn’t been off our screens in months, it seems.

With film and television roles in Dracula: Untold, The Raven, Clash of the Titans, The Three Musketeers and The Great Train Robbery, Evans’ face is now instantly recognisable thanks to Peter Jackson’s latest JRR Tolkien trilogy, The Hobbit.

At the international press conference at Claridge’s, Evans – who was voted Wales’ Sexiest Man 2014 last month, revealed that it was four years since he shot the dramatic action scenes which saved his character’s hometown from dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

“I knew what Bard was capable of and knew what he ends up doing in the three movies, but when I started playing him he was a father of three without a wife who had a long journey ahead of him.

“It was very strange last night (at the premiere) to see the full sequence of me on the tower (trying to kill Smaug), which was one of the first things I shot.

“Peter had me up on wires for hours! That was four years ago - so I’ve waited a long time to see that!”

Asked whether he would have preferred to have the role of a Hobbit or wizard instead of a human in the movie, he replied: “I would’ve liked a pointy hat!

“I knew what role I was going for before I went in so I knew I was going to be one of the very few humans in the trilogy.

“Actually, I felt quite lucky not to have to spend hours in the make-up chair.”

In the past Evans has revealed that director Peter Jackson requested he read for the part with his Welsh accent.

“I think they realised then that it sounded good, and that it could potentially be a valid accent for Bard,” explained Evans, to fansite theonering.net back in July.